Seattle University will become first U.S. Jesuit University to divest its endowment of fossil fuels

Seattle University will become the first university in Washington state to divest its endowment of fossil fuels over the next five years.

The action means that by 2023, Seattle University will no longer invest any of its $230 million endowment in the funds and securities of fossil-fuel companies. The university estimates that 6.7 percent, or $13.6 million, of its endowment has “exposure to securities of fossil-fuel companies, as defined by ownership of fossil-fuel reserves.”

The university will work to achieve a 50 percent reduction by Dec. 31, 2020, and expects to be fully divested by June 30, 2023.